Existence and stability of capillary-gravity wave-borne vortices

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the existence and stability of waves progressing through a finite-depth two-dimensional body of water that carry a vortex in their bulk. The waves are acted upon by gravity, and sit below a region of air at constant pressure, with the air--water interface being a free boundary along which capillary effects are incorporated. We consider two classes of vortices: point vortices, where formally the vorticity is a Dirac $δ$, and hollow vortices, where the vortex core is a region of constant pressure outside the fluid domain and about which there is a nonzero circulation. First, we prove that steady small-amplitude wave-borne point vortices exist for any subcritical Froude number and supercritical Bond number, and then show they are conditionally orbitally stable. Second, through a vortex desingularization argument, we construct capillary-gravity wave-borne hollow vortices. Notably, the wave speed is $O(1)$ for both these families.